
wmmmfcw 


















A TRUE AMERICAN 


AUTHOR 


MARY E. (MARTIN) REDEN, 

w 

Matron and wife of the Founder and Principal 

—OF— 

THE DELTA INDUSTRIAL INSTITUTE, 
DODDSVILLE, 

: .* MISS. 


(Copyright, 1922.) 

By Mary E. (Martin) Reden 


Negro Star Publishing Co. Print, Wichita, Kans. 



A TRUE AMERICAN 




To every God-fearing* and humanity-loving* 
creature, This little pamphlet comes greeting, 
in the name of Him Who said:— 

'‘Little children, love ye one another, 
for love is the fulfilling of My Father’s Law.” 

AUTHOR. 


'' '■ :<* ,Vi ■, 

_o 

AUG 28 1922 


A TRUE AMERICAN 



0, America! America! Mistress Of the 
World’s Queen of the Continents, Land of my 
nativity! Gird up thy loins and listen to me, 
as I tell to the inhabitants of the universe, 
who is A True American. 


—3 


i 


AUTHOR. 


A TRUE AMERICAN 


Who is A True American? Is it he who 
is born on American soil, of American ances¬ 
tors? Is it he who breathes American air, 
drinks American waters, subsists upon 

American food, wears American raiments, 
made in American factories? Is it he who 

is naturalized by American laws and govern¬ 
ments, educated in American schools, of art, 
science and literature, and loyal to American 
religious creed: Yea, all this and more too, 
for there are things far greater and grander 
than any, above named, in the make-up of 
“A True American. ,, 

A True American is he who seeks' to ob¬ 
tain and retain a better world through the 
learning and practice of the Principles in¬ 
volved in the training of the Head, Heart and 
Hand:—Head to think, Hand to work, Heart 
to trust God. These Principles are as fol¬ 
lows: 


- 4 - 



A TRUE AMERICAN 

I. Out of the same blood, and in His 
jown image and likeness, God created all men 
and placed them upon the earth to dwell in 
love and unity, and regardless to race, stand¬ 
ing or nationality, he that doeth His will, is 
accepted of Him. 

II. Worship God and serve Him only, 
and seek first His kingdom, believing that all 
other blessings will be added, in proportion 
to the amount of faith maintained. 

III. Righteousness exalts a nation but 
sin is a reproach to any people* 

IV. Taxation without representation is 
unjust. 

V. Man hath no property in man. 

VI. The foundation of justice is, that 
no man suffer wrong. 

VII. No man hath the power to keep 
another man down. 

VIII. As long as I keep my brother 
down, I stay down, and when I rise, he rises, 
if I kill him, my conscience torments me, 

thus, I am down any way. 

IX. Despise not the poor, envy not the 

rich. 

X. Fight ignorance, poverty and dis¬ 
ease, and not each other. 




A TRUE AMERICAN 


XI. Live and let live. 

XII. Obey the laws and uphold the Con¬ 
stitution. 

XIII. Everybody must work. 

XIV. As ye would that men should do.: 
unto you, do ye even so unto them. 

XV. Lift as you climb. 

XVI. Give help, where help is most 
needed. 

XVII. The education of all, and not a 
select class, only. 

XVIII. Oppression upon the scaffold 
and “Right” upon the throne. 

XIX. It is not the color of the skin, nor 
the texture of the hair, that make people foul 

nor fair, but it is “Principle.” 

XX. Be gentle, yet firm. 

XXI. Keep driving away at something 
all the time. 

XXII. See no man according to race, 
color, creed, wealth, poverty, education, ig¬ 
norance or nationality, but all as human be¬ 
ings, knowing that Christ died for all human¬ 
ity, and said: “Who-so-ever will, let him 
come.” 


— 6 — 





A TRUE AMERICAN 

XXIII. Find a way or make a way. 

XXIV. False modesty, skin deep, true 

modesty, soul deep.—Example—He who is 
ashame to work, or ashame to be seen clean¬ 
ing toilets, barns, the pig and poultry houses, 
and yet not ashame to live an immoral life, 
has false modesty, and will fade into nothing¬ 
ness, like the sparkling dew, before the morn¬ 
ing sun. 

XXV. Scientific tillage of the soil, be¬ 
cause from the beggar up to the king, depend 
on the tillage of the soil: we can live without 
beggars, we can live without kings, we can 
live without cruel bloody war, which mars a 
nation’s happiness, but we cannot live with¬ 
out the tillage of the soil. 

XXVI. Deal justly with thy fellowman. 

XXVII. God within me, keeps me right¬ 
ly thinking; God beneath me keeps me from 
sinking; God around me keeps me from walk¬ 
ing crooked; God above me, keeps me upward 
looking. 

XXVIII. Be sure you are right, and 
then move onward, and leave the devil to 
follow. 

XXIX. Politeness and kindness to all 
humanity. 


— 7 — 


A TRUE AMERICAN 

XXX. Do the right, at the right time 
and in the right way. 

XXXI As a person thinketh, so is he, 
let it be good or bad. 

XXXII. Speak fittingly, as a word that 
is fitly spoken, is like apples of gold in pitch¬ 
ers of silver. 

XXXIII. Right or wrong actions show 
what a person is. 

XXXIV. A true foundation, is built, by 
putting business into Christianity and Chris¬ 
tianity into business. 

XXXV. Teach by example as well as by 
precept. 

XXXVI. Economy of space, time, en¬ 
ergy and material, but not as the miser. 

XXXVII. The soul in the eye, means 
power with men, and a steady saintly, gaze, 
coupled with a level head, is a psychological 
winner. 

XXXVIII. Crooked thoughts make a 
crooked man, straight thoughts make a 
straight man; frivolous minds make frivo¬ 
lous men, weighty minds, make weighty men; 
mean ways make mean men, good ways make 
good men. 

XXXIX. Temperance means, a moder¬ 
ate use of all things useful, and total absti¬ 
nence from all things harmful. 


— 8 — 


A TRUE AMERICAN 

XL. When about to lose self-control, 
anticipate consequences, and foresee espe¬ 
cially what you may be required to do, in 
mder to regain position. 

XLI. Make discipline an ally, and not 
an enemy. 

XLII. After earnestly and persistently 
trying, and “failure’' crowns your efforts, if 
your life is spared, don’t give up, just charge 
it to profit and loss, and move calmly onward. 

XLIII. Christianity without clean mor¬ 
als, puts a person in the position of a chair 
standing on three legs, with the fourth leg 
broken off: the slightest touch or the least 
wind, makes him fall or tumble over. 

XLIV. A sound soul, is always a best 
soul. A selfish soul is never sound, but a 
sound soul must continue sound. 

XLV. Righteous will-power builds a 
fortress around the individual, but an un¬ 
righteous will-power, tears the fortress down. 

XLVI. Cleanliness viewed from every 
angle, and in all the avenues of life makes a 
sound person. 

XLVII. Brighten the corner where you 

are. 

XLIII. Six feet of earth make us all 
the same size. 


— 9 — 



A TRUE AMERICAN 


XLIX. Brick cannot be made without 
mortar, a house cannot be built before the 
material is gotten, a garment cannot be made 
without first having the goods, neither can 
universal peace, be obtained, before individ¬ 
ual peace, and this peace must come from 
within, through the Holy Spirit, and not 
through the medium of Peace Conferences. 

L. Friend-ship that does not tell one of 
his faults, and seek to help him mend them, 
is not friendship. 

LI. Righteous sacrifice, and not selfish, 
for the sake of others. 

LII. Let love reign supreme. 

LIII. To do wrong just once makes it 
easier to do wrong just twice, and visa versa. 

The fifty-three above named principles, 
concealed in the education of the head, hand 
and heart, and revealed through the learning 
and practice of them, make A True American. 

In every home, school, church and com¬ 
munity that has been intrusted to my care 
and responsibility, I teach them with all 
sincerity to boys and girls, men and women, 
in order that they may drink them in, as 
sponge drinks water, for these constitute a 
True American, otherwise, he is an alien.— 
Amen. 


M. E. (M.) R. 


— 10 — 


A TRUE AMERICAN 


WHEN LOVE REIGNS SUPREME. 


Man’s inhumanity to man shall cease, 

When love reigns supreme; 

And there’ll be a» permanent universal peace, 
When love reigns supreme. 

When love reigns supreme, 

When love reigns supreme; 

Joy and gladness everywhere shall be, 

When love reigns supreme, 

When love reigns supreme, 

We will live and let live, 

When love reigns supreme; 

Our tithes for good we will give, 

When love reigns supreme. 

War-guns will cease to roar, 

When love reigns supreme; 

Nations will study war no more, 

When love reigns supreme. 


Mary E. (Martin) Reden. 


— 11 — 








A TRUE AMERICAN 


MY COUNTRY'S FLAG. 


Tho’ born of parents, slaves, 

Who now sleepeth in their graves; 
They taught me from a child, 

Alway to be meek and mild, 

But it sets me nearly wild, 

And fills my heart with woe, 

To see a foreign foe, 

Insult my country’s flag. 

My parents suffered pains, 

From wearing slavery chains, 

But they were set free 
And taught me to be 
Filled with loyalty; 

They taught me to bleed and die. 
Rather than deny, 

My country’s flag. 

Thou flag, so beautiful and grand, 
That floats over sea and land, 

Thou that set my parents free, 

And gave me liberty, 

I love thee! I love thee! 

Since thou hast done so much for me, 
I can never forget thee, 

My country’s flag. 

Mary E. (Martin)< Reden. 


-12- 



















V - 




















































































